Helmet head positioner



April 10, 1962 J. c'. MILLER 3,028,602

HELMET HEAD POSITIONER Filed Dec. 19, 1960 I 3 Sheets-Sheet l JOHN C.MILLER l2: 2 INVENTOR. BY

,gww, MHQJAMQ ATTORNEKS April 10, 1962 J. c. MILLER 3,028,602

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April 10, 1962 J. c. MILLER HELMET HEAD POSITIONER Filed Dec. 19, 1960United States Patent Ofiice 3,028,6ll2 HELMET HEAD PGSITIONER, John CMiller, Anaheim, Calif., assignor to Mine Safety Appliances Company, acorporation of Pennsylvania 7 Filed Dec. 19, 1%0, Ser. No. 76,804 3Claims. (Cl. 2-6) This invention relates to helmets for aviators and thelike, and more particularly to means for positioning the head in such ahelmet.

In a pressure helmet for aviators or for other similar uses, minimumsize is desirable. Also, the head should be maintained as comfortably aspossible in a substantially fixed position relative to the helmet inorder to provide minimum slack when head movements are required to movethe helmet relative to the pressure suit, and to reduce likelihood ofimpingement of the helmet against the face or transmission of impacts tothe head. It has been found most practical to position a head in ahelmet of this nature by use of pads bearing on the top, back and sidesof the head and by a padded frame surrounding the face. In order tointroduce the head into such a helmet it is necessary to make the faceframe and the back pad movable so that they can be spread farther apartwhile the helmet is being applied to or removed from the head. Afterapplication, the pads are tightened against the head, but heretofore thehead could move the pads too much relative to the helmet.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a helmet, in whichface pad and back of the head pad can be adjusted toward and away fromeach other, and in which after adjustment against the head the pads canbe held in substantially fixed position relative to the surroundinghelmet.

In accordance with this invention a padded face-fitting frame and ahead-fitting pad are flexibly mounted in the front and back of a helmet,respectively. Slidingly connected to spaced edges of the frame and padis a cord that has vertically spaced portions between those two membersat each side of the helmet. One of those portions includes the oppositeends of the cord. Attached to ber is clamped to the cord by meansoperable from outside of the helmet. The cord is thus anchored by thelocking member and the take-up drum to both sides of the helmet, so thatmovement between the head and helmet will be restrained.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a side view, partly brokenaway, of a helmet containing head positioning means;

FIG. 2 is a reduced horizontal section through the helmet showing thepositioning means in place;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the face frame;

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the head pad;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged outer end View of the cord-locking member;

FIG. 6 is a vertical section taken on the line Vl-VI of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged outer end view of the cord takeup device;

FIG. 8 is a vertical section taken on the line VIII-VIII of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a view of the inner end of the take-up device; and

FIG. 10 is a transverse section taken on the line XX of FIG. 9.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4 of the drawings, a bare helmet shell 1,without the lens and usual top and side pads, is shown provided withhead-positioning means according to this invention. The positioningmeans include a front pad in the form of a frame 2 designed to fitaround the face. The frame is flexibly connected to the helmet by meansof a resilient sheet metal bracket 3 secured to the upper part of theframe and riveted to the top of the helmet. At the back of the helmetthere is a generally rectangular pad 4 intended to fit against the backof the head. This pad is secured to a circular sheet metal spring 5 bymeans of fasteners 6 slidably mounted in horizontal slots'7 in the rigidback of the pad. The top and bottom of the spring are riveted to theback of the helmet. The face frame and head pad have spaced edgesprovided with passages or tunnels for a cable or cord 8. Preferably, thetunnels 9 for the frame extend across the front of its upper and lowerportions, and the tunnels 10 for the back pad extend up and down alongits opposite sides. The cord starts between the two pads, mostconveniently near their bottoms at the right-hand side of the helmet.From there it extends forward through the lower front tunnel 9, back tothe lower end of the left-hand back tunnel l0 and up through it, thenforward and through the upper front tunnel, back to the upper end of therighthand rear tunnel and down through it and forward. Therefore, thereare vertically spaced portions of the cord at each side of the helmetbetween the two pads, and one of these portions includes the twoopposite ends of the cord.

The ends of the cord are connected to a take-up drum so that the wearercan shorten the cord in order to draw the two pads against his head. Asshown in FIGS. 7 to 10, the take-up drum 12 is provided with a centraloutwardly extending shaft 13 that is rotatably mounted in a hub 14projecting through the side of the helmet from a cuplike housing 15 thatencircles the drum. A sealing ring 16 encircles the shaft inside thehub. The housing is clamped against the helmet and a sealing gasket 17by a nut 18 screwed onto the outer end of the hub. A knob 19 is rigidlymounted on the outer end of the drum shaft for turning it. The peripheryof the drum is provided with a helical groove 20 and with a cross slot21 (FIGS. 9 and 10) that has a restricted side that opens int o'theinside of the groove. Enlarged ends 22 on. the cord are inserted in theslot, and the cord is led forward away from the slot through laterallyspaced areas of the groove and through slots 23 and '24 '(FIG. 9) in theside wall of the housing. It will be seen that by turning, the knobclockwise, FIG. 7, the end portions of the cord can be wound around thedrum in groove 20.

To lock the drum in any desired position, it is provided with aplurality of circumferentially spaced holes 26 parallel to its axisadapted to receive a pin 27 mounted in the adjoining side of housing 15.The drum and pin normally are held together by a coil spring 28encircling shaft .13 and compressed between the knob and the housinghub. When it is desired to turn the drum, the knob is pushed inward todisengage the drum from the pin, whereupon the drum can be rotated. Whenthe knob is released, the spring will move one of the drum holes 26 outaround the pin and thereby prevent the drum from turning back. As shownin FIG. 10, the drum is provid-' ed with an inwardly projecting pin 29that will strike the side of a radial tab 30 on an annular cover 31 forthe housing in case the knob is pushed in and an attempt is made to turnit the wrong way from its unwound position.

In fitting the helmet to a head, the take-up drum 12 Patented Apr. 10,1962 v is turned clockwise to wind the cord on it in order to pull theface frame and the head pad toward each other and tightly against thehead. The cord can slip in the tunnels 9 and 10 of the frame and padduring this adjustment so that the pads will not be pulled sideways outof position relative to each other. However, if the cord were connectedto the helmet only at the drum, the head could move the padsconsiderably without moving the helmet, which would be objectionable.

It therefore is a feature of this invention that after the cord has beentightened by the take-up drum, a portion of the cord at the oppositeside of the helmet can be secured to the helmet so that the' head cannotmove the pads appreciably without the helmet moving with them. For thispurpose, a locking member is provided which preferably is located at theelevation of the upper portion of the cord at said opposite side of thehelmet. As shown in FIGS. and 6, the locking member 35 is slidablymounted in a tubular fitting that is rigidly mounted in the side of thehelmet. The tubular fitting includes a hollow bolt 36 that extendsoutward through a hole in the helmet, with the head of the bolt clampedagainst a sealing gasket 37 by means of a nut 38 on the outer end of thebolt. The head of the bolt is provided with a pair of diametricallyspaced holes 39, in which inwardly projecting pins 40 are rigidlymounted. The pins extend loosely into holes 41 through the head of thelocking member overlapping the head of the bolt. The pins pre- Vent thelocking member from rotating in the bolt. A washer 42 bears against nut38, and a screw 43 extends through the washer and is threaded into thelocking member. By tightening the screw, the locking member can bepulled outwardly in the hollow bolt. The latter is provided with anannular recess at its inner end containing a gasket 44 which engages thehead of the locking member to seal the space between them.

Extending transversely through locking member 35 close to its head is apassage 46, through which the adjoining portion of cord 8 extends. Whilethe adjusting screw 43 is loose the cord can slide through the lockingmember as the take-up drum is turned to shorten the cord. After that,the screw is tightened to clamp the cord against the fitting.Preferably, gasket 44 projects from the hollow bolt so that the cordwill be clamped between the head of the locking member and the gasketand therefore will not be in any danger of being cut by sharp edges ofany of the metal members. After the locking member has clamped the cordtightly in place, it is not necessary to touch the locking member againunless it is desired to change the adjustment of the head positioner. Toremove the helmet, it is only necessary to release the take-up drum so,that the frame and pad can move away from each other as the helmet islifted off the head.

I claim:

1. The combination with a helmet, of a face-fitting frame in the frontof the helmet, a head-fitting pad in the back of the helmet, meansflexibly connecting said frame and pad to the helmet, a cord slidablyconnected to spaced edges of the frame and pad and having verticallyspaced portions between the frame and pad at both sides of the helmet,one of said portions including the opposite ends of the cord, a take-updrum attached to said opposite ends and journaled in the adjacent sideof the helmet, means outside the helmet for turning the drum to tightenthe cord and thereby pull the frame and pad toward each other, a lockingmember mounted in the opposite side of the helmet and slidinglyreceiving one of said portions of the cord, and means outside the helmetfor clamping said member to the cord after the cord has been tightenedby the drum, whereby the cord will be anchored to both sides of thehelmet.

2. The combination with a helmet, of a face-fitting frame in the frontof the helmet, a head-fitting pad in the back of the helmet, meansflexibly connecting said frame and pad to the helmet, a cord slidablyconnected to spaced edges of the frame and pad and having verticallyspaced portions between the frame and pad at both sides of thehelmet,one of said portions including the opposite ends of the cord, a take-updrum attached to said opposite ends and journaled in the adjacent sideof the helmet, means outside the helmet for turning the drum to tightenthe cord and thereby pull the frame and pad toward each other, a tubularfitting mounted in the opposite side of the helmet beside one of saidportions of the cord, a locking member slidably mounted in said fittingand having a portion inside the helmet provided with a transversepassage adjacent the inner end of the fitting slidingly receiving anadjacent portion of the cord, the locking member being provided with ahead overlapping the inner end of the fitting, and means outside thehelmet for pulling the locking member outward to clamp said adjacentportion of the cord against the fitting after the cord has beentightened by the drum, whereby the cord will be anchored to both sidesof the helmet.

3. The combination with a helmet, of a face-fitting frame in the frontof the helmet, a head-fitting pad in the back of the helmet, meansflexibly connecting said frame and pad to the helmet, a cord slidablyconnected to spaced edges of the frame and pad and having verticallyspaced portions between the frame and pad at both sides of the helmet,one of said portions including the opposite ends of the cord, a take-updrum attached to said opposite ends and journaled in the adjacent sideof the helmet, means outside the helmet for turning the drum to tightenthe cord and thereby pull the frame and pad toward each other, a tubularmember rigidly mounted in the opposite side of the helmet beside one ofsaid portions of the cord, the inner end of said member being providedwith an annular groove, a gasket disposed in said groove, a lockingmember slidably mounted in said fitting and having a portion inside thehelmet provided with a transverse passage adjacent said gasket slidinglyreceiving an adjacent portion of the cord, the locking member having ahead overlapping the gasket, and means outside the helmet for pullingthe locking member outward to clarnp said adjacent portion of the cordagainst the gasket after the cord has been tightened by the drum,whereby the cord will be anchored to both sides of the helmet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,270,238 Clarke et al. I an. 20, 1942 2,573,250 Le Grand Daly Oct. 30,1951 2,739,310 Frieder et al. Mar. 27, 1956

